Mairbek Vakhaevich Taisumov (

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

: Майрбек Вахаевич Тайсумов; born August 8, 1988) is a Russian-born Austrian mixed martial artist. He fights in the

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...

division. A professional mixed martial artist since 2007, Taisumov has previously competed in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

and

M-1 Global M-1 Global (Mixfight-1) or MMA-1 (Mixed martial arts-1) is a mixed martial arts promotion based in St. Petersburg, Russia which organizes between 10 and 20 competitions per year. It hosted its first major show (rather than co-promoting with oth ...

Early and personal life

Taisumov was born on August 8, 1988, in

Grozny Grozny (, ; ) is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 328,533 — up from 210,720 recorded in the 2002 Russian Census, 2002 ce ...

, the capital of the modern-day

Chechen Republic Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federal District, and share ...

of Russia. He is from the Yalkhoy (Biytro gar) teip (clan). He fights out of

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, and trains at MMA Vienna and Tiger Muay Thai in

Phuket Phuket (; , , or ''Tongkah'') is one of the Southern Thailand, southern Provinces of Thailand, provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. It consists of the island of Phuket, List of islands of Thailand, the country's largest island, and another 3 ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. He started his sporting career as a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player before realizing fighting was his true passion and devoting his career to martial arts. He made his professional MMA debut in 2007. He is a devout

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...

. In July 2018, Taisumov got a Moroccan citizenship to aid him in getting a U.S. visa.

Mixed martial arts career

M-1 Global

Taisumov spent much of his career fighting for

. He made his M-1 Global debut against Borys Mankowski on February 5, 2010, winning via TKO in the second round. Taisumov knocked out Julien Boussuge in the first round on May 29, 2010, at M-1 Selection 2010: Western Europe Round 3. Taisumov submitted

Serhiy Adamchuk Serhii Adamchuk (born February 7, 1990) is a Ukrainian kickboxer. A professional competitor since 2008, Adamchuk is a former Glory featherweight champion and three time featherweight title challenger. Combat Press ranked him as a top ten feat ...

in the first round on July 22, 2010, to win the M-1 Selection 2010: Eastern Europe Tournament. Taisumov was poked in the eye by Artem Damkovsky in the third round of a M-1 Global Lightweight Championship bout on October 28, 2010, and lost via doctor stoppage. Taisumov defeated M-1 veteran Yuri Ivlev by second-round TKO on March 5, 2011, at M-1 Challenge 23. Taisumov knocked out Josh Bacallao in the first round on July 8, 2011, at M-1 Challenge 26. Taisumov knocked out Joshua Thorpe in the second round on November 20, 2011, at M-1 Global: Fedor vs Monson. Taisumov lost a split decision to Marat Gafurov on June 21, 2012, at M-1 Global: Fedor vs Rizzo. Taisumov was expected to face Musa Khamanaev for the M-1 Global Lightweight Championship on November 15, 2012, at M-1 Challenge 35. The bout was cancelled for unknown reasons. Taisumov instead faced Leon Del Gaudio, whom he submitted in the first round. Taisumov made Niko Puhakka submit to first-round leg kicks on June 8, 2013, at M-1 Challenge 40. In his final M-1 Global bout, Taisumov submitted Artem Damkovsky in the third round of a rematch on November 30, 2013, at M-1 Challenge 44.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Taisumov made his UFC debut against

Tae Hyun Bang Tae Hyun Bang (born April 15, 1983) is a South Korean mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2004, he has also competed for World Victory ...

on January 4, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 34, winning a dominant unanimous decision. Taisumov was expected to face UFC veteran

Gleison Tibau Janigleison Herculano Alves, better known as Gleison Tibau (; born July 10, 1983) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division. A professional since 1999, he has competed for the UFC, Professional Fighters ...

on March 23, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 38. Tibau pulled out of the bout due to a knee injury and was replaced by Michel Prazeres, who won a dominant unanimous decision. Taisumov beat newcomer Marcin Bandel by first-round TKO on October 4, 2014, at

UFC Fight Night 53 ''UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Story'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 53'') was a mixed martial arts event held on October 4, 2014, at Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden. Background This event was the third event that the UFC hosted in S ...

. Taisumov was expected to face

Yan Cabral Yan Cabral (born 13 May 1983 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is a mixed martial artist, grappler and 5th degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt practitioner and instructor associated with the Nova União academy. A former UFC fighter, Cabral trained ...

on January 24, 2015, at UFC on Fox 14. Cabral pulled out of the fight due to a knee injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer Anthony Christodoulou, who Taisumov knocked out in the second round. His contract up, Taisumov announced a new five-fight contract on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

on February 8, 2015. Taisumov beat Alan Patrick by second-round TKO on June 20, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 69, earning a "Performance of the Night" bonus of $50,000. Taisumov was expected to face

Beneil Dariush Beneil Khobier Dariush (born May 6, 1989) is an American professional mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from ...

on January 17, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 81. Dariush pulled out of the fight in early December citing injury and was replaced by Chris Wade. However, Taisumov was removed from the fight over reported

visa Visa most commonly refers to: * Travel visa, a document that allows entry to a foreign country * Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Vi ...

issues and was replaced by Mehdi Baghdad. Taisumov beat promotional newcomer Damir Hadžović by TKO on April 10, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 86, earning his second $50,000 "Performance of the Night" bonus. Taisumov was expected to face

Nik Lentz Nik Lentz (born August 13, 1984) is an American retired mixed martial artist. He most notably fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, fighting in the lightweight division. Background Lentz was born in El Paso, Texas but grew up in Twin ...

at UFC 203 on September 10, 2016. However, Taisumov was removed from the fight during the week before the event over reported

issues and was replaced by promotional newcomer Michael McBride. Taisumov was expected to face Joaquim Silva on May 28, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 109. However, Taisumov pulled out of the fight on May 16 citing a knee injury. He was replaced by Reza Madadi. Taisumov faced UFC newcomer Felipe Silva on September 2, 2017, at UFC Fight Night: Struve vs. Volkov. He won the fight by knockout in the first round. The win earned Taisumov his third consecutive ''Performance of the Night'' bonus award. Taisumov was expected to face Evan Dunham on April 7, 2018, at

UFC 223 ''UFC 223: Khabib vs. Iaquinta '' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on April 7, 2018, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Background A UFC Lightweight Championship bout between ...

. However, Taisumov was removed from the fight on March 9 again over reported

issues. Dunham will now face Olivier Aubin-Mercier at the event. Taisumov faced

Desmond Green Desmond Green (born October 11, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the lightweight division for Ultimate Fighting Championship. Green is a bare-knuckle boxer for BYB Extreme Fighting Series, where he is the current BYB ...

on September 15, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 136. At weigh-ins, Taisumov weighted five pounds over the lightweight non-title fight limit of 156 and was fined 40% of his purse to Green. Taisumov won the fight by unanimous decision. On April 11, 2019, it was reported that

USADA The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA, ) is a non-profit, non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization and the national anti-doping organization (NADO) for the United States. To protect clean competition and the integrity of sport and prevent ...

issued a six-month suspension for testing positive of

stanozolol Stanozolol (Abbreviation, abbrev. Stz), sold under many brand names, is a synthetic androgen and anabolic steroid (AAS) medication derived from dihydrotestosterone (DHT). It is used to treat hereditary angioedema. It was developed by American ph ...

metabolites in an in-competition sample collected on September 15, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 136. USADA and

World Anti-Doping Agency The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA; , AMA) is an international organization co-founded by the governments of over 140 nations along with the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against d ...

(WADA) determined the stanozolol metabolites were found from contaminated dietary supplements he digested. The suspension was retroactive to October 8, 2018, and he was eligible to fight again on May 8, 2019. Taisumov faced

Carlos Diego Ferreira Carlos Diego Ferreira Neves (born January 18, 1985) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, currently competing in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the former Legacy FC lightweight champion, and vacate ...

on September 7, 2019, at

UFC 242 ''UFC 242: Khabib vs. Poirier '' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on September 7, 2019 at The Arena, Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Background The event mar ...

. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. The fight was the last one of his prevailing contract thus making him a free agent. Later in an interview, Taisumov told that he was entertaining offers from other promotions meanwhile holding an option to re-sign with the UFC.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** Performance of the Night (Three times) **Tied for fourth most consecutive knockouts in UFC history (5)

Mixed martial arts record

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Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

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Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, Germany , , - , Win , align=center, 23–5 , Anthony Christodoulou , KO (punches) , UFC on Fox: Gustafsson vs. Johnson , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:38 ,

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Sweden , , - , Win , align=center, 22–5 , Marcin Bandel , TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Story , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:01 ,

, Sweden , , - , Loss , align=center, 21–5 , Michel Prazeres , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Henderson 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 21–4 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Saffiedine vs. Lim , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Marina Bay, Singapore , , - , Win , align=center, 20–4 , Artem Damkovsky , Submission (rear-naked choke) , M-1 Global - M-1 Challenge 44 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:25 , Tula, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 19–4 , Niko Puhakka , TKO (leg kicks) , M-1 Global - M-1 Challenge 40 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:32 ,

Ingushetia Ingushetia or Ingushetiya, officially the Republic of Ingushetia, is a republic of Russia located in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. The republic is part of the North Caucasian Federal District, and shares land borders with the country o ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 18–4 , Leon Del Gaudio , Submission (guillotine choke) , M-1 Challenge 35 - Emelianenko vs. Monson , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:45 ,

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

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, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 17–3 , Luca Poclit , Submission (punches) , EMS - Middleweight Tournament Opening Round , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:57 ,

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

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, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 15–3 , Josh Bacallao , KO (punch) , M-1 Challenge 26: Garner vs. Bennett 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:01 ,

Costa Mesa, California Costa Mesa (; Spanish language, Spanish for "coastal tableland") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–3 , Yuri Ivlev , TKO (punches) , M-1 Challenge 23: Guram vs. Grishin , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:38 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 13–3 , Ivica Trušček , Submission (rear-naked choke) , GCF 1 - Judgement Day , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:19 ,

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

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, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 , Julien Boussuge , KO (punch) , M-1 Selection 2010: Western Europe Round 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:11 ,

Uusimaa Uusimaa (; , ; both lit. 'new land') is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme), and Kymenlaakso. Finland's capital and largest city, Helsinki, alo ...

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Tavastia Proper Tavastia () or Tavastland may refer to: Regions * Häme (Swedish: ''Tavastland'', Latin: ''Tavastia'') * Tavastia (historical province) Tavastia (; ; ; also called ''Yam'' (Ямь) or ''Yem'' (Емь) in Russian sources) is a historical prov ...

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Košice Košice is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of approximately 230,000, Košice is the second-largest cit ...

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, Czech Republic , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Vaclav Pribyl , Submission (armbar) , CF 2 - Cage Fighting 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:00 ,

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; ), also known by its Anglicisation, anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a Federated state, state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's States of Germany, sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpom ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Taisumov, Mairbek 1988 births Living people Austrian male mixed martial artists Russian male mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Doping cases in mixed martial arts Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Austrian male Muay Thai practitioners Russian male Muay Thai practitioners Austrian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Russian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Martial artists from Grozny 21st-century Austrian sportsmen 21st-century Russian sportsmen Austrian Sunni Muslims Russian Sunni Muslims Russian expatriates in Austria Naturalised citizens of Austria Russian people of Chechen descent Austrian people of Chechen descent